Try the moules + frites from our 100 Best list: These things just may be the tenderest, most delicious mussels Chicago has seen yet.
Try the soup from our 100 Best list: Rick Spiros’s herbaceous, spicy broths, such as this take on Vietnamese pho (we tried it with short ribs—now it’s made with braised brisket) are life-sustaining.
Try the cioppino from our 100 Best list: Among the reasons people flock to the place is this classic San Francisco dish: a spicy broth sporting a rotating cast of fish, sweet shrimp & tender mussels.
Try the Naem khao thawt from our 100 Best list: Northern specialties like this crispy rice salad with ham, are a textbook example of Thai food’s ability to hit sweet, sour, salty & spicy all at once.
Try the basque cake from our 100 Best list: Thankfully, this warm cake with a golden crust and soft middle is the only dessert pastry chef Amanda Rockman keeps on her menu year-round.
Try the Oatmeal-chocolate bread from our 100 Best list: There was nothing molecular or fancy about these thick slices of homey, chocolate-studded cake. There was, though, something special about them.
Try the calamari from our 100 Best list: Put this calamari stuffed with chicken and pork forcemeat and flavored with Korean chilies and peanuts squarely in that camp.
